1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power control apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for controlling the power of an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, in order to operate an electronic device, such as a mobile communication terminal, it is necessary to use a physical switch installed on the outside of the electronic device. Such a physical switch may be a dome switch, a tact switch, etc. According to the conventional scheme, since power supplied through such a dome switch or tact switch, and an element such as a transistor is used to supply power to a power management Integrated Circuit (IC), at least one switch must exist on the outside of an electronic device in order to operate the electronic device.
Presently, when switching the power of an electronic device on or off, the user must press a power switch for a predetermined time period. A procedure of applying power in a general electronic device will now be described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating the configuration of a power supply unit in a conventional electronic device. In order to supply power to an electronic device, a power button 100 included in the electronic device must be pressed. As the power button 100 is pressed, a switch 110 is switched on to supply battery power 120 to a transistor 130. When the battery power 120 is supplied to the transistor 130, the transistor outputs a high signal, and a controller (not shown) of the electronic device operates a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), thereby initializing the electronic device and performing a basic operation.
Since such a conventional electronic device requires transferring power to the PMIC in order for the electronic device to be powered on, pressing a key is required through a physical switch. Also, as the size of the electronic devices are reduced, the space for placing a keypad becomes smaller, so that the area for placing a power button to control power has also become an issue. In addition, frequently pressing a power button may cause an error in the operation of the power button. Meanwhile, in connection with a mobile communication terminal, the design of the mobile communication terminal has become a very important aspect, and such a tendency also requires a change in the design of a keypad, including a power button, etc.